Taenia saginata

Taeniasis is the human pathology caused by the beef tapeworm
Taenia saginata.It is
acquired from ingesting undercooked beef that is encysted with the larval stage
of the tapeworm in the muscle fibers of cattle, also known as measly beef or
“Beef
Measles.”Taeniasis
is more commonly found in parts of the world like Ethiopia and Argentina,
because in these countries it is common for people to eat undercooked and raw
beef. Although, in general Taenia saginata infestation
is has a world wide distribution depending on these two factors: how frequent
beef is eaten and poor sanitation.

Look at this link at a person's real small intestine infected
with a tapeworm!

Symptoms

When digested by the terminal host (the human),
T. saginata will tend to stay in the
gastrointestinal tract.A human
infected by the beef tapeworm tends to be asymptomatic or having minor
complications.Some symptoms are as
followed: intestinal upset, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea, hunger pains,
diarrhea, constipation, or chronic indigestion.The main symptom that is usually always noticed first, is the pieces of
proglottids found in an infected human’s feces.
Taenia saginata doesn’t
cause a lot discomfort and the reason being is that it connects with such little
surface area of the epithelial lining of the intestine.The suckers of the
scolex induce little immunological response.

Diagnosis

The main diagnostic factor is the
presence of proglottids being passed through the feces.
It is hard to see with the naked eye,
what specific species the proglottid would have originated from.To make the distinction, the proglottids must be looked at under a
microscope.Taeina saginata’s
uterus branches and stems out from its center forming 12 to 20 branches.This is different from its closest relative Taenia solium, where
there is a difference of size and number of the uterus branches. There are fewer
branches and the uterus branches are thicker.

T. saginata

T. solium

Now the unlike the
asymptomatic condition caused by T.
saginata, its cousin Taenia solium
can become quite severe and life threatening.Taenia solium will use the human as
an intermediate host and will end up forming larval cysts in the brain, also
known as Neurocysticercosis.

Another possible relative that infects
both human and domesticated animals would be the
Echinococcus granulosus.This is a close relative of both T. saginata
and T. solium being from the same family, Taeniidae

.
Follow the link to read more on how it can cause problems and disease in
carnivores, including humans.

Treatment

There are two types of medications that are used to treat individuals
infected with the Beef Tapeworm.

Niclosamide:

This medication is a nonabsorbable oxidative phosphorylation inhibitor.
This acts to kill the anterior portion
that connects to the inner epithelial lining of the intestine, including the
scolex.This will then allow the
tapeworm to be passed out entirely through the feces.This is the drug choice with this parasitic infection because the curing
rate is at a high 95%.

Praziquantel:

This is a synthetic medication derived from isoquinoline-pyrazine.This is a comparable medication to Niclosamide, being almost as equally
effective and fairly nontoxic.This
is not as effect though because the scolex isn’t always destroyed.This means that a new worm can grow back from that connected scolex.Patients using this treatment must be watched for a month of two
afterwards to make sure that the tapeworm proglottids don’t start showing up
again in their feces.

Click here for more detailed information on tapeworm infestation and its
treatment.

Public Health and Prevention Strategies

Now, Taeniasis has a world wide distribution because it is
found where beef is eaten and in places of poor sanitation. This would
include the United States as a possible area to have T. saginata
infestation. Public Health laws have been passed that requires all meat to be
inspected before it is allowed to be used for human consumption. The
grazing of cattle is also checked routinely of marketed cattle to make sure that
they are not eating in contaminated areas. Also, to prevent vegetation
contamination, the disposal of human fecal matter must be dealt with properly.

Finally, prevention has to with your own personal
actions. The first main factor is just cooking beef thoroughly, so the
larval cysts if present would be killed. The second and as equally important
aspect is practicing good hygiene like washing your hands. This would prevent the spread of of the
microscopic eggs and infecting others.